


Endless Cycle

by teaandcharcoal



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Gods AU, Grim Reaper!Sans, life goddess!Toriel, reapertale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2016-01-20
Packaged: 2018-05-05 05:45:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5363609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teaandcharcoal/pseuds/teaandcharcoal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Toriel, the goddess of life, has run away. Many years have passed without her there to aid her creatures, so the others improvised. When she finally returns, things have been changed forever. </p><p>Based on the Reapertale AU by Renrink on tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> “The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and the other begins?” —Edgar Allan Poe, “The Premature Burial”

Toriel sat at her window, staring out into her facsimile of the night sky. She nudged some of the stars about with a claw. With a sigh, she lowered her arm and the lights faded. All of them had already been arranged and rearranged dozens if not hundreds of times. All of the books she’d brought had been read and re-read. Perhaps her self-imposed exile had outlived its usefulness. If Asgore was going to repent, he would have done it by now.

…But if she went back she’d just be vindicating him. No, she had to stay. She’d tried everything else, and maybe it would be better for her to not know what had become of the world. Maybe-

There was a sharp knock at her door

“My Queen?” a high voice inquired.

“Enter.”

The door creaked softly, and one of her whimsun fluttered in the threshold. “We- um- oh dear, oh dear…”

“It’s alright, little one.” Toriel held out her hand, and the creature landed on her palm. “What is it you need? Is there another spirit trying to nap in the storeroom?”

“No. There’s something wrong in the above! Things are… it’s strange.” It shuffled about, eyes darting everywhere but her face.

“What’s strange?” She asked softly, trying not to startle the creature.  

“Remember when creatures were done living, and so you let them rest?”

“Yes, though sometimes I wish I didn’t.”

“It’s happening all by itself, your majesty! Things are starting to turn up, well, not alive, and the air is growing cold.”

“What? How?”

The whimsun flinched and let out a high-pitched yelp.

“Shh, no I’m not angry. Please just tell me what you know.”

“I don’t know! Not even the wisest mortals seem to know. P-please, they’re sending out so many prayers. They want you to help them.”

Toriel nodded. “Thank you, dear whimsun. I’ll be heading out presently.”

She kept a smile on her face as the timid creature left, but once it was out of view she allowed her face to fall. What where the others doing? How could they be doing it? She clenched her fists. She had been blocking out the mortals for their own good, but now she had no choice. Well, at least now she didn’t have to worry about if Asgore had given up.

Throwing open her wardrobe she shoved most of her dresses to the side. If she would be returning topside for the first time in centuries, she wanted everyone to remember who she was. She donned her royal attire, smoothing the green silk of her skirt and fastening the golden flower around her neck. As she looked down, though, she wondered if it was perhaps a bit too much. After all, how much of a fool would she seem storming into the Gods’ Palace without even knowing what was going on? She grabbed her magic mantle as well and shivered softly as its magic washed over her, making her appear as a common peasant.

She would sneak among the humans; learn what they thought of what was going on. Then she would confront her husband and learn what he was doing to her creation. Hopefully they kept the same tongue over the years, but if not she would be able to commune with some of them spiritually. Giving away her position to one human wouldn’t be too much of a problem. Right?

She threw the doors open wide, expecting to be greeted by an empty field and the warmth of the sun on her face. Instead one of the doors banged against something quite solid, and a biting wind streamed through the other.  

“Ow! Warn a guy, won’t you?”

“Eep! I-I’m so sorry.” She ran outside, shutting the doors behind her. “Are you alright?”

A man sat in the snow, rubbing his head. He was bundled from head to toe, a thick black cloak reaching his ankles and a scarf wrapped around most of his face. All she could see of him was a pair of shocking cyan eyes. She offered him her hand and he took it, allowing her to pull him to his feet.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Mostly just startled. Didn’t think there was anything behind those doors. Never seen them open before, you know?”

“Oh, ah- Well, are you here often?”

He shrugged. “It’s a nice spot to come to think.”

“I see.”

“So what’s in there anyway?”

“Ha ha, wow it is cold outside, isn’t it? What’s up with that?” _Please go with it please go with it please-_

“Well, I mean, it is winter.”

 _Yes._ Wait, what? “I see. What makes it cold when it’s winter, anyway?” She asked, trying to seem casual.

“No one knows really. Some say it’s because the earth needs to rest so crops grow better in the spring. After all, humanity hasn’t been visited by the gods in a while. We can’t make land fertile like Toriel could. Good thing she made her life hardy enough to make it without her.”

She looks down. “I see…”

“I’m Sans, by the way.” He held out his hand.

“T-Toriel,” she replied, taking it.

“Heh, sorry if it seemed like I was talking bad about your patroness.”

“It’s fine. …Perhaps she _has_ been a bit neglectful lately.”

“Hey, where are you heading anyway?”

“I was hoping to go up Mount Ebott.”

“You a pilgrim, or just have a deathwish?”

“A what?” She asked.

“Deathwish. You know, actively seeking death.”

“Oh, erm, pilgrim.”

“Oh good. It’d be a shame if a lady as lovely as you was about to die.”

“Ah.” She waited, hoping he’d tell her a bit more.

“You know, if you’re planning to hike up the mountain, where’s your gear?”

“It’s back in the cave. I was just heading off to- Well I didn’t bring a chamber pot, if you catch my drift.”

“Oof, my bad, I should let you get to that. But hey, after that do you want someone to go up with you?”

“I’m sure your family would miss you.”

“It’s just my brother, and he’s used to me disappearing for a few days at a time.”

She swallowed. Something about this didn’t feel right. There a glint to Sans’ eyes she couldn’t quite trust. “I’m sorry, sir, but I would prefer to make this journey alone. Prayer and meditation, you understand.”

“Of course. Sorry, Toriel. I’ll see you around.”

“Farewell, Sans.”

“Hey, maybe next time you won’t sidestep me when I ask what’s behind those doors other than a gorgeous woman. Curiosity kills, you know.”

She opened her mouth to respond, but there was an especially sharp gust of wind and then he was gone. She locked the doors with a spell before beginning to climb the slope. The sooner she got away from that spot the better. It would be better if she didn’t run into that man again. He seemed like he knew more than he should.

Even using her magic to help, it was still quite a hike up the mountain. Luckily, it gave her some time to observe more of what had become of the world. Thankfully, everything was not quite as barren as it had first appeared. Though not a single plant remained, now that the human was gone animals approached her. Part of her didn’t think she should interfere, but she couldn’t help it. The poor creatures were starving. She found a bush peeking out from the snow and touched it, giving it the energy to sprout leaves for the deer and rabbits and squirrels, along with berries for the birds. The animals fell upon it, eating as much as they could. The poor things were starving. How could Asgore allow this kind of misery?

 _“It’s your fault,”_ she thought to herself. _“If you hadn’t left-“_

A sudden jolt went down her spine, and the birds all took off at once. She looked around wildly. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but her belly churned. Something was watching her. No, that was silly. She would feel anything alive, right? But there was nothing. She shook her head and went on. A bit later on her nerves settled, but when she looked back over her shoulder a bird lay in the snow.

She had to keep moving.

The feeling of unease kept coming back every hour or so, and each time she couldn’t quite pinpoint the source. After a while she realized it had to be the feeling of death. Each time a wolf would descend on a deer, or a tree would fall, or an owl would strike a mouse under the snow.

She just wanted it to stop. Each time she watched something lose its life guilt clenched at her heart. She’d let the world get this violent. She’d walked away and made it so creatures no long left in peace. Now only blood and pain and screams remained. Luckily, she didn’t have to stop to rest. Once night fell, many animals slept, and if this death kept taking them it was at least quiet.

By sunrise she reached the summit. It was completely bare, the Gods’ Palace still hidden by magic. Well, this was her moment. She dropped her cloak, and as it fell she released a burst of magic. Golden light radiated from her body, and as it spread the snow melted and the plants beneath began to grow again. Soon she stood atop a field of golden flowers. The palace’s shining marble walls appeared before her and she reached towards the doors. But before she came close, they both opened.  

“Wow, that was really something. Glad I waited!” Sans stood on the other side of the threshold, eyes wide with excitement.

“What are you doing here?”

He laughed. “Surprised you haven’t figured it out yet. You’re not the only one who uses a magic mantle.”

“But I didn’t recognize- who are you, really?”

“Well it’s not like you were super honest yourself. But anyway.” As he unclasped his cloak, the flesh on his hand faded away. His black robes remained, but two silvery sickles appeared at his waist. When she looked back at where his face had been, a skull grinned back, his striking eyes reduced to far-away specks of light. “Hi life, I’m death. Nice to meet you.”


	2. Chapter 2

“W-what is this? What has Asgore _done?!”_ Toriel demanded.

Sans’ smile didn’t waver, but he did look away. “Well, don’t you know how to make a guy feel special?”

“Look, I’m sorry, Sans. You seem nice enough. But you’re…” As she looked at his face she realized his bones were twisted and wrong, like nothing that she had ever made. “creatures like you shouldn’t exist.”

The lights in his eyes went out. “Maybe you should have thought of that before you left us.”

She scoffed. “I wasn’t the one who did this. Where is he? Where is Asgore? Asgore!”

The door atop the grand staircase opened. Asgore stood in the threshold, as tall and regal as ever. His cloak was decorated with purplish pink swirls, reminiscent of the sky outside as it always had been, but the rest of his regalia was simpler with plain gold replacing the ornate designs she remembered. “Tori? It _is_ true. You’ve come back to us!”

“Yes, but not for your sake. I heard reports of creatures suffering, so I came to try to help them. And what do I find when I returned? You’re forcing them to die.”

“I had no choice,” he said sadly. “I knew you always hated death, but you hate suffering more.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You didn’t see it, Tori, because you never would have allowed it. Mortal creatures are only meant to live so long, and without you to return their life force… They were rotting from the inside out, not able to have their bodies fail enough for reprieve. What else could I have done?”

“You could have come to me! You were _supposed_ to come to me, to repent and seek forgiveness.” Tears rolled down her cheeks and she clenched her fist. “But you couldn’t bear to face me. So you took the coward’s way out and just made some demented replacement!” She gestured sharply at Sans, who flinched.

“Nothing could replace you,” Asgore said softly. “But balance had to be restored.”

She lifted her arm and threw a bolt of magic towards him. Vines reached out from the ground, throwing themselves towards his head. As fast as they moved, Sans went faster. He sprouted massive black wings and soared to protect his Asgore. The moment before impact, he crossed his sickles and a wall of blue light appeared before him. Suddenly her vines began to brown as fast as they grew, falling harmlessly to the ground. She continued to push, but he continued to hold. Neither budged an inch.

She lowered her arm, panting heavily, and Sans returned his weapons to his sides. He looked pleasantly surprised, like he hadn’t been expecting that either. She just glared up at him.

“Wow, you sure are something,” he said. “I was kind of expecting to die there. Wonder what would have happened… would I have to judge myself or would my brother get a promotion?”

“Your brother?” Toriel asked, slamming the door shut behind her. “You made _two?!”_

“N-not me,” Asgore said. “To be quite honest, it was mostly Gaster’s idea. I just told him he could do what he had to in order to return order.”

“I should have known.” She began stomping up towards him. “Someone like _you_ could never have done this on your own.”

“You know, I was really hoping giving you time to breathe would soften your heart,” he replied sadly.  

“I’m not the one who’s become callus!”

“Okay!” Sans said, clapping his hands. “Who wants something to eat? Or anything else to diffuse this situation before it gets worse? I think maybe we should-“

An hourglass appeared before him, only a few grains of sand left in the top half.

“No, not _now,”_ he whispered.

“What’s going on?” Toriel demanded.  

“Look, I have to go. Please, _please_ don’t kill each other while I’m gone. This job is tough enough as it is.” He touched the hourglass and vanished.

“What was that?” Toriel asked again, turning her eyes on Asgore.

“Sans doesn’t have the sense for timing you do,” He admitted. “And the population has grown quite a bit since you left. More souls need proper judgment and when their time comes they call to him.”

“Judgment?”

“Well, yes. The job’s gotten a bit more complex as well, you see. Now that there’s somewhere for the mortal souls to go we have to figure out how to organize them. It’s quite a complex process, and to be honest I’m not entirely privy to all the details, what with the entire day and night skies to manage I just don’t have the time.”

“Asgore…” she took a few steps towards him, “What all have I missed?”

“So much, it has been torture without you, dear wife.”

“I’m no wife to you anymore,” she said sternly. She closed her eyes and sighed. “But I also can’t live in ignorance any longer. I assume you continue to manage your sky, but tell me what all you have done to my earth.”

Asgore opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything Sans reappeared.

“Sorry about that, your majesties. You know how it is. So like I was saying-“

“Sans,” Asgore said sharply.  

“Yes sir?”

“I want you to escort Toriel. Show her what has changed since the old times.”

“Yes, my lord.” Sans bowed sharply. “I don’t remember that much from the early days, but I’ll do my best.”

“Perhaps this will be a bit easier for you, Toriel.” Asgore said with a smile. “I hope you will join us for dinner. I will ask the cooks to prepare a feast in your honor.” With that he turned and left, exiting before she had the chance to object.

 The shutting of the door echoed through the marble hall with nothing to swallow the noise and no sounds to overpower it. She was alone with her absolute antithesis.  She noticed that Sans was breathing, though it was slow and slight. There was certainly something of Gaster’s stone-like face in him as well. But there was still just something so unnatural, so _twisted._ What kind of skeleton has cheeks?!

“So… uh… I guess he wanted me to give you a tour right?” He asked.

Toriel said nothing.

“You know, this might be easier if you stop staring at me like you’re going to rip my guts out. I don’t have any.”

Huh, at least he has a decent sense of humor about being an abomination. But then again, the poor creature couldn’t help what he was. He hadn’t asked to be made. For the time being, she would at least give him a chance.

“I’m sorry. It’s been quite a day. Sure, you can show me around.”

His grin grew a bit wider. “Hey, that’s great! You know, everyone will be really happy to see you. This way, your majesty.”

“You can call me Toriel.”

“Alright, T-Toriel. Er, I think Asgore will probably have gotten far enough away by now. He can really book it when he wants to.”

“Does his run still wobble a bit because of his horns?”

“Heh, yeah. It’s not as bad as a couple hundred years ago when he was into covering them with gold, though. ”

She can’t help but smile as she pictures it.

“Hey, there you go! Everyone used to mention how nice your smile was.”

“Oh-!” She felt herself blushing, and cursed the lightness of her fur.

He startled a bit, and his cheekbones turned blue. “Anyway, let’s go.” He shuffled up the stairs and she glided over them, catching up to him before he reached the door.

 “Heh, sorry if I’m a bit slow. When it comes to strides you’ve got a good _leg_ up on me. I think a lot of this is the same; they mostly added a wing for Papyrus and me.”

“Papyrus?” She asked.

“Ah, that’s my brother. Before you left, was there a myth about written talismans?”

“Yes, for safety and fortune.”

“Well, he takes the souls that are safe and fortunate, those that don’t need to be judged.”

“And I take it you have the ones that do.”

He looked down. “Yeah. Not my favorite thing, but I’d rather I deal with it than Pap. He believes too much in humans. I don’t want him to see how cruel some of them can be.”

“I see. Will I get to meet this ‘Papyrus’ soon?”

“Hopefully. He’s usually a bit busy around this time. Lots of sick kids, you know.”

“Oh…” she looked down.  

“Do my ear holes deceive me?” A low, growling, unfamiliar voice. “Is that Toriel?”

A tall figure wrapped in a long dark cloak turned the corner.

“Hey, Gaster!” said Sans.

“Gaster? Oh my goodness, what happened to you?”

He smiled at her, his marble face cracked horribly, his proud nose worn down to nothing. “The intervening years were not equally kind to all of us, my dear.” He made a non-committal gesture, but it revealed a hand with a massive hole through the palm. At least the shimmering nebulae beneath his cloak were the same. “But to answer your question, no one can create life but you, dear Toriel. The rest of us can merely perpetuate it. And it is quite a bit more difficult for our kind than for mortals.”

“I-I’m so sorry.”

His smile fades, “We only did what had to be done.”

“I suppose so…”

“Anyway, I must be going.” He turns into a nearby room, but pauses in the doorway. “And Toriel? Worry not. I do not regret the creation of my children, but I do hope that for you it was worth it.”

He shut the door behind him before she could say anything.

“This is the first time anyone’s seen me in centuries and none of them let me get a word in edgewise,” Toriel muttered.  

Sans laughed. “Don’t feel too bad. He always has to have the last word. Besides, he’s probably in a hurry, heading to his lab like that.”

“Hmm.”

“Well anyway, lab you know. Kitchen and servant stuff is still down that way. Stairs are down near the end, that’s old, but we also added that door, which takes you out to my and Papyrus’s place. So now it’s not a _dead_ end.”

“Where the garden was…” She said softly, staring out the frosted glass doors, seeing nothing but black beyond them.

“Some of it’s still there! It’s kind of grown into a forest because no one else could really manage it like you did, but it’s still pretty nice. Good for walks when you have the time. I’m sure you’ll probably be able to get it into shape. If you plan to stay, that is.”

She turned and looked back at him. “You think I’d leave again?”

He shrugged. “Well, you’re obviously still really mad at Asgore, so you’re probably not going to want to share chambers with him and there’s not much of anywhere else to sleep, and besides you keep looking at me like something nasty you’ve stepped in.”

“Oh… Sorry, I-“

“Was just trying to hide it? Good luck with that. It’s literally my job to read people, and being better at it means I don’t have to work as hard. So I tend to get it dead on the first try,” he said with a wink.

He was trying, wasn’t he? He was really trying.

Another hourglass appeared and Sans groaned. “I’m sorry, I’ll be right back.”

“Take me with you.” She said sharply.

“You sure? This is- not sure this will really be your thing.”

“I need to see what’s happening to them.”

Sans closed his eyes. “Alright. Take my hand.”

She hesitated for a moment afraid, but then reached out to him. He clasped her paw, and to her surprise it was just a bit warm, humming with energy. He held out his other hand, and the hourglass landed upon it.

She felt as though she was being squeezed through a tube, and everything flashed black. She opened her mouth, but found all of the air sucked from her lungs. Then as suddenly as it began it was over. The two of them stood in a small cottage. An old man lay on a straw mattress, eerily still, as though he was already dead. In fact everything was still, even the fire in the hearth, and it all had a bluish tinge to it. Toriel tried to release Sans’s hand, but he didn’t let her.

“Don’t let go,” he said. “If you let go, the spell will end. You won’t see any of this, and as far as the family’s concerned you of all people will have shown up while they’re trying to mourn dad.”

“…Okay.”

“Can you bend down for me?” She did, and he pressed a thumb to her forehead. It was so hot she wouldn’t be surprised if some of her fur had been singed right off. “There. _Now_ when we start he won’t be able to see you. I will need both my hands, though, so…” He created another set of wings, and guided her hand to rest across the top of one of them.

“Alright,” she said.

“You ready?”

“I’m ready.”

Sans took a deep breath and blew out slowly. The blue tinge disappeared from the man’s body and he coughed harshly. Sans opened his eyes, the tiny specks of light gone.

“Howard Goodman, your time of judgment has come.”

“W-what?” The human asked. “What are you doing here? I’ve lived a good life, I have.”

“That’s not for you to decide.” He drew his sickles and then dropped them, but instead of clattering to the ground they remained fixed at waist height. “You are prideful. You think that you’re above everyone else, and part of you is insulted that I’m here instead of my brother when a normal person ought to be afraid.”

“But I-“

Sans continued, ignoring him. “You wouldn’t know humility if it ran up to you screaming its name.” The left sickle lowered, the right one coming up towards his hand. The man began to shake. “But, at the same time. You’ve been a loving husband and father. You’ve been honest, helped your neighbors…” The sickles began sliding back. “And above all you’ve been kind, and you believed not just in the gods, but in humanity as a whole.” The weapons froze, the left sickle aligned perfectly with Sans’s palm.

The man let out a relieved sigh.

The lights came back into Sans’s eyes and he looked at the sickle. “Well, well, looks as though you’re not a bad guy after all. In time you may be redeemed. Due to your hubris, you will be working as a servant in the Unending Fields until you learn to be more humble.”

“Thank you, thank you so much.”

Sans’s face softened. “Now go in peace.”

Sans reached forward and drives the sickle into the man’s chest. He gasped, shuttered, and fell still. When the sickle came out, surprisingly bloodlessly, it brought a yellow heart with it. Sans returned the weapons to his belt and the heart floated up and away.

“So that’s what it’s like to die,” Toriel said softly.

“Pretty much. Anyway, we’re done here. Let’s go.”

There was another squeeze, and then they were gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been sitting on this for a while, and just kept putting off proofing it. Ah well, here we are. 
> 
> Also known as the chapter where I take the established reapertale canon and throw it out the window.

They were back at the palace. Toriel staggered as they reappeared, but she managed to catch herself before she fell to the ground.

“Anyway,” Sans said cheerily, “Let’s go show you around the new wing. If there’s anywhere you’ll be able to make some space for yourself it’ll probably be there.” As he took a few steps forward, she realized he was still holding her hand.

“Erm, Sans?”

“Yeah, Toriel?” He looked back at her, followed her eyes to their joined hands, and then immediately let go. As he pulled back, she suddenly felt cold. The hall hadn’t been that drafty before she left.

“So, uh, garden and tower. Right.”

She allowed him to lead her through the doors. The black tower jutted out of her once-pristine garden like a knife in an innocent’s breast. Gnarled trees and thorny bushes surrounded the tower. And yet the canopy above was full, the leaves of the trees brushing against one another. Some of the bushes bore red or black fruits. In the branches, birds sung and squirrels scurried about.

“How?” she asked.

“Huh?”

“I was expecting… I don’t know, perhaps sludge or plain dirt.”

“Oh, yeah. Well, it turns out even if some of the plants don’t like us that much, the woody ones can handle it. When Papyrus and I were really little this was all overgrown with weeds and grasses, but as soon as we brushed up against them they wilted. Then some of the trees spread their seeds, and those little guys were prepared to sleep for a bit instead of just dying when we came around. I was thinking maybe we could get some of the servants to chop down some of the oaks and make you a nice sturdy cabin or something? Or maybe you can grow the trees in a specific way? They never really told me what you could do.”

“I’m sure that’ll be fine,” she said. “So… you and your brother have this whole tower to yourselves?”

“Well, yes and no. There’s a whole bunch of stuff going on. I suppose I could show you if you’d like.” He looked away, the lights in his eyes focusing on one particular pebble.

She made herself smile down at him. “I suppose I’m going to need to know all the ins and outs of this place eventually, so lead on.” 

 His grin widened, and Sans opened the double doors. There was light and laughter as ghosts played and chatted. The entire hall was filled with translucent beings, floating just above the ground.

“Come on, really?” Sans groaned.

“Where did they all come from?”

He gestured to the far side of the room. “The portal to the Unending Fields is through there, sometimes the door gets jammed and all the innocent and redeemed souls end up waiting here. Pap usually takes care of it, but he’s just been so busy lately that-“

A tiny ghost tugged on the edges of Sans’s robe.

“Excuse me, sir,” they said. “Do you know where Mister Papyrus is?”

Sans knelt down to the child’s height. “He’s helping others who are hurting right now. Don’t worry, though. I can help you guys too. Follow me.”

Somehow, all the other spirits seemed to hear him and went silent. Toriel was suddenly very aware she was the only one breathing.  Sans walked across the floor, ghosts moving out of his way as they watched him. The small one stayed at his side, clinging to him nervously. As he approached the far side of the room, Toriel realized that etched into the stone was a massive door, twice the size of the one she’d just gone through. It looked to be made of solid obsidian with intricate carvings covering every square inch.

“Hey kids,” Sans said. “How do the dead open the door to the afterlife?”

“How?” the one beside him asked.

“With a skeleton key!” He traced his finger down the center of the stone, and it rippled and faded away.

Behind it the sun shown down upon lush fields and valleys. The green was interrupted now and then with tiny towns and villages. Some of the ghosts gasped excitedly and squeezed each other, some let out cries of disbelief, a few took timid steps forward, and others still sprinted forward into the light. The moment they crossed the threshold they seemed to grow solid once more, running away as flesh and blood.

“Okay, there you go, everyone in.”Any spirits that had been uncertain came rushing forward, dozens of them streaming through the door.

Sans continued to gesture, urging the spirits forward. The little one stayed at his side until the end, not willing to go until he actually led her forward himself. Once they were all gone, he swiped his finger upward and the door reappeared.

“Sorry about that. Apparently it’s a really, _really_ good year to be bacteria.”

“Oh,” Toriel said softly. Oh, why did she have to start so small? “Do they all end up here? The ones who can’t go on living?”

“Well, the good guys and those that get redeemed. That’s the only portal there is. …As far as I know anyway.”

“Sans?”

“Yeah?”

“What _are_ the Unending Fields?”

He blinked. “You mean you don’t know?”

She shook her head. 

“I uh- I mean, it’s just where people _go_ when they die _._ If they’re good, anyway. They can do more or less what they want. No one gets hungry or hurt or ill.”

“Where did it come from?”

“What do you mean? Hasn’t it always been like this?”

“What? Of course not! When people died they just used to… their energy, their souls, everything it just went back into the earth.”

“They did?” He blinked at her, eyes wide.

“Did you never question why we didn’t need you before?” Toriel demanded.

Sans looked away. “To be honest, I never bothered to ask. Guess I never thought about it.”

“I’m going to have a long, long talk with Asgore this evening,” she growled. “He hasn’t told you _anything_ has he?”  

“Well, I uh- What happened between you two anyway?”

Toriel sighed “Do you have somewhere to sit? Perhaps we could make some tea?”

“I do.” He started climbing the spiral stairs around the outside of the room. “I’ve got the whole second floor to myself, but it’s kind of a mess. So prepare yourself.”

At first she scoffed at the warning. She was a mother; she’d seen plenty of mess in her time. But then when he actually opened the door… It was like a fox den which had been trampled by rhinos. Sans lifted a pile of cloth and revealed something resembling a sofa. He snapped his fingers and a fire appeared in the hearth. A teapot already hung over it, and Toriel just hoped that the water in it was fresh. Toriel sat down and Sans flopped down beside her.

“So you wanted to know about Asgore and me?” She asked.

“Yeah. I’ve always kinda wondered, but no one’s told me.”

“Well, we were two of the first gods who came into existence. He was born of the sky, and I of the earth because someone was needed to be aware of time and care for the world. But for a long time we were alone. When you’re the only two sentient creatures in the universe, you kind of get attracted to each other. We came to the top of this mountain, where we had been created, and we… promised to love each other forever.”

She laughed. “Obviously it didn’t work out, but for a while it was quite good. But I didn’t quite know or perhaps didn’t believe what would come to happen. Through combining our powers and abilities in different ways, we were able to create or animate most of the other gods. In between all that, we developed our respective spheres. He decorated the sky, filled it with wind and clouds, and I made all sorts of living things. Those days creatures roamed the forests looking up at star-filled skies, living until their bodies grew too tired and their life force returned to the earth to nourish others. Things were the way they were meant to be.”

The teakettle began to whistle and she went to take it off the heat. The tiny pinpricks of light in Sans’ eyes followed her every movement. His smile remained constant, impossible for Toriel to read.

“There are a few mugs on the mantle. Tea’s in the tin next to the broken lamb statue.”

She had to move a sock, three dried cloves of garlic, and a stylus covered in dried ink, but she found a pair of cracked cups. But where was that tea?

“By your right foot.”

“Oh, thank you.” She quickly fixed the tea, using the small clear space on the mantle, and brought it back.

“Thanks,” Sans said, accepting the tea. His fingers brushed her hand, and there was that warmth and energy again. He quickly snatched the cup and pulled it away. She wondered momentarily if he could feel it too.

 “So, erm, you left us with sunshine and rainbows,” he said.  

“Yes, yes I did.” She sat back down, allowing the tea to warm her fingers. “The start of it all was really when Asgore became too interested in my creatures. He saw how they reproduced, and wondered if we could do that too, make something perfectly in the image of ourselves. And we did. Not too much later, our son was born.”

Sans’ eyes widened. “Your son?”

“Yes.” She smiled softly. “Asgore was never too creative with names, so we named him Asriel. He grew as the young of mortal creatures did, though it was over centuries instead of years. Then I decided to push my own abilities. I had made all types of creatures, but all of them mindless. All of the gods worked together and we were able to create souls, which formed frail bodies for themselves. These were the first of the monsters, gifted in magic but physically weak. Then I took some of those souls, and created proper solid bodies for them. These creatures held mess magic, but they were far sturdier. We had no idea how remarkable these humans were at first. Not only could they reproduce their bodies, they gave their offspring pieces of their soul, which were able to split off and grow like a branch of a tree transplanted onto another. And I loved them so, so much.”

She looked down. “But not as much as Asriel did. We would all appear to humans now and then, but Asriel would stay on earth for weeks at time. And he fell completely in love with a child named Chara. They were very devout, loved all of us like family. So we allowed them to be part of our family, to work with Asriel as our messengers to humanity. If human and god worked side by side, we believed that the humans would truly be able to understand the truths we knew. We never thought of the consequences that partnership would have. The biggest clue should have been Undyne. Her eyes changed color, and her armor became richly patterned.” 

“The coming of war…” Sans said softly.

“Indeed. Chara’s tribe had intense rivalries with several others nearby. Less than two years later, lines were drawn and a bloody war began, the first the humans had ever really fought. To us it was all too fast to process. Armies broke through to Chara’s shrine and attacked them. Asriel sensed something was wrong and fled as fast as he could, but it was too late. Chara’s body was all but destroyed. From the castle, I could feel the earth calling to reclaim their life, but then it went silent, but it was not sated. I borrowed one of Asgore’s eagles and flew as quickly as I could to the shrine.

“I remember the day was bright and clear, so the trip was quick, but every moment I felt a mystical disturbance grow stronger and stronger. I began to notice places where everything had been burnt to ash, and bodies ripped apart in a gruesome display, suffering but still alive. I couldn’t bear to leave them, so I had to pause to let each of them rest. By the time I made it to the shrine there was nothing but blood and dust and shattered statues, with no sign of either Asriel or Chara. Off in the distance there was a massive column of smoke, and I knew it had to be the source of the disturbance. I followed it, but this time I left the bodies. This was too urgent.  

“Eventually I reached a village which was still burning. Above it flew a demon, massive multi-colored wings above a legless, pointed body. It shot balls of fire from its hands, blasting every building and creature in sight. But then it turned to look at me, and I recognized the faces of my children, no matter how twisted they had become. Somehow their very souls had fused. I called out to them, asking why they were doing this.

“’I’m sorry mother,’ they said. And then they flew away on those beautiful, terrible wings back towards the mountain. I followed as quickly as I could, but they were faster. From far away, I could see them standing in the courtyard, facing Asgore.” She gripped her cup as tightly as possible. Tears ran down her face and into her tea.

“Toriel? It’s okay, you can stop if you-“

“He killed them, Sans. Asgore killed our children. That’s why I hid myself away. That’s why I can never, ever forgive him.”

“Asriel and Chara…” Sans said softly.

“Yes.” She looked up at him, but he was staring into the fire.

“I- I think I have to go. Maybe sit here and collect yourself for a bit, and then go and say hello to the others. They all miss you too, I’m sure.”

She nodded, wiping at her tears. “Alright Sans.”

“If it’s any consolation,” he said, standing. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that.” He offered her his hand, and she took it. He gave her a sympathetic squeeze and after a beat, leaned down to kiss the back of her paw. “I’ll see you tonight, your mages- Toriel.” With that he vanished, leaving her alone in his messy, messy room.


End file.
